CPA Practitioners: Steal These Unusual Publicity Ideas!

Looking to generate some publicity for your CPA practice, but you’ve strained your brain trying to come up with a clever idea?

Thanks to my friend Joan “The Publicity Hound” Stewart, today’s blog offers you three ideas that you can borrow from and adapt to your practice.

#1: Offer Yourself as a Source to Your Statewide CPA Association.

Get to know the marketing department at the association and let them know that you’re willing to talk to the various media outlets who need help. This is a great way to get quoted in an article.

Stewart has a CPA friend in Wisconsin for whom this technique has been incredibly valuable with his local media. The Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants is the first place many reporters go when they’re looking for sources in the accounting industry. Since he volunteered to be a media contact, he’s been quoted in an article at least once a year. One of those articles included a color photo on the front page of the local business journal in Milwaukee.

You can easily take the same step with your state association.

#2: Try the Valentine’s Day Lunch Stunt (or Some Variation).

Stewart told me about an accounting firm that sent lunches to four of its local flower shops on what is inarguably one of their busiest days of the year: Valentine’s Day. “This is called a publicity stunt,” says Stewart, “and there are a lot of publicity stunts that go haywire because they’re stupid stunts. But I love this one. This is one you would tip the media off to a couple of days ahead of time. This is custom-made for the TV stations because (in) floral shops there is a lot of interesting color and a lot of things that the camera can shoot film of.”

Note that the flower shops don’t have to be your clients. This is a great goodwill story that can get you and your practice on TV and in other local media.

#3: Team Up with Hospitality Businesses to Offer a “Tax and Relax” Package.

Stewart also had this idea: “Team up with a local bed and breakfast and offer to do their clients’ tax returns. There is a cute little B&B in Connecticut who offer weekend specials of massages, et cetera. But they had a little twist and they offered what they called the Special Tax and Relax Package. The package includes one complimentary night of accommodations and breakfast for two in the morning. When you leave, Kevin will mail your tax returns within 5 to 10 business days.”

How can your CPA practice create its own twist on one of these creative ideas? I’d love to hear what you come up with. Please share with a comment below!